Emergency Protocols
by whiteswan
Summary: Prequel to 'Squeeze.' New team member Alex Blake slowly learns how the team handles certain situations. There are some things that just aren't in the employee handbook…
1. Cheetos and Chocolate, STAT

Note: An anonymous reviewer of my story 'Squeeze' asked to see some of the emergency protocols mentioned in that story and this is the result.

Chapter 1: Cheetos and Chocolate…STAT!

Alex Blake sank into her chair with a sigh; she'd forgotten just how intense even an in-office workday could be with the BAU; she'd only been back for a couple of weeks and she was already drained. Her attention was pulled to the blonde who plopped into the seat across from her and she did her best to smile at her, despite her own mood, "Good morning JJ."

To her surprise, the normally friendly woman only glanced up with a sour look on her face. JJ must have seen her surprise because she sighed and shook her head at herself before speaking, "Alex, good morning. I'm sorry; it's been a rough couple of days and they've made me short-tempered."

"It's alright, I completely understand." They were still getting to know each other so she hesitated for a moment before asking, "Is there anything I can help with? Do you need to talk?"

JJ's response was a small smile and a shake of her head, "Thanks Alex, but not right now. I appreciate the offer though."

A little later, when JJ, still visibly stressed, left for a coffee break, Reid joined Alex at her desk; he'd noticed her worried glances at their teammate and wanted to give her a heads-up, "JJ's been having some issues with her mother ever since Will's funeral; that and trying to help Henry with all of the changes they've been dealing with has her stressed out. And with Garcia out of town…"

"I understand. Thank you Spencer." She hadn't met the infamous Garcia yet but knew that she was JJ's best friend. Spencer's pride in his position as Henry's godfather ensured that she'd known how close they were long before she'd rejoined the unit. It didn't take profiling skills to figure out that Garcia (and Morgan) being out of town and Prentiss having left the unit robbed JJ of a significant portion of her support network, just when she needed it the most. She also knew that her own ability to help was naturally hindered by the fact that they didn't know each other well yet. Perhaps in time….

Her thoughts were interrupted when JJ re-entered the bullpen, stabbing a finger angrily at her phone; upon reaching her desk she slammed down the phone and yanked her purse from her drawer before spinning on a heel and stalking in the direction of the kitchenette. In her haste she passed by Rossi and Hotch, who were returning from lunch, without even sparing them a glance. The two men stopped in their tracks and watched her round the corner; Rossi's eyebrows were nearly at his hairline in surprise.

Once she'd disappeared from sight, Hotch was the first to recover from his surprise and speak, "Reid, when are they due to restock the snack machine?"

The younger man's brow furrowed, "The day after tomorrow. You don't mean….?"

"Yes; I checked this morning when I noticed her mood." Alex tried to hide her surprise at this; Hotch hadn't been in the bullpen all morning. And what did the snack machine have to do with anything? The Unit Chief seemed not to notice her as he questioned Reid once again, "Do you still have some extras on hand?"

She felt her mask threatening to crack from the shock as she watched her protégée rummage through his messenger bag for a moment before handing their boss several snack-sized bags of Cheetos as casually as he would have handed over a requested file. Nor had Hotch's expression changed, other than the faint lines of concern that had formed at the corners of his eyes; he merely pocketed the snacks and requested that they send JJ up to his office when she returned. As he and Rossi walked away she heard the older man ask about Hershey's and Hotch's reply that he had that covered. What on Earth was all that about?

Further pondering on the matter was postponed when JJ returned once again and tossed her purse back into the drawer with a disgusted expression on her face. Alex watched curiously from under her eyelashes as Reid relayed Hotch's message and the blonde turned towards the stairs without question. When Hotch's door snapped shut behind her, Alex looked up just in time to see the privacy blinds drop and close.

Half an hour later, she picked up a file and made for the stairs; she'd been trying to put it off until JJ returned but couldn't wait any longer: she needed to run this one by Hotch. When her tap on the door was acknowledged with a 'come in' she stepped inside, wary of what JJ's mood might be. To her surprise she spotted the blonde on the couch that sat against the wall with Hotch in the chair beside her; she'd apparently interrupted them talking. The crumpled wrappers on the coffee table in front of them and JJ's now calm expression let her know that things were safe. Not wanting to interfere with their conversation any longer than necessary, she handed the file to her boss and briefly explained the issue she'd encountered. Once Hotch had promised to follow up on it, she turned to head back to her desk and leave the two to their talk. To her surprise, JJ rose and gathered the wrappers from the table and tossed them in the bin before joining her instead. Their progress was halted momentarily when Hotch stepped up next to them and slipped an extra Hershey bar into JJ's hand before nodding to them both and heading back to his desk.

Alex caught sight of a small smile on the blonde's face as they reached their desks and went back to work; the crisis had been averted, somehow. Reaching for a new folder with a sigh, she made a mental note to make the time to talk to Dave and learn more about her new coworkers; while it would take time to gain their trust and find her place in their 'family,' she would at least like to know some details so she wouldn't be caught quite so much by surprise. And to think that she hadn't even met two of the team members yet!


	2. Operation Rescue Reid

Disclaimer: Still don't own them, definitely don't make any money off of writing about them.

Note: My apologies; I failed to specify a timeline for this story in the first chapter. Chapter 1 took place in early June, after season 7 ended. This chapter takes place in late June, between seasons 7 and 8. I'm working with the premise here that Morgan and Garcia got sent to London shortly after the season ended, as it seemed that Garcia hadn't met Blake yet in the S8 opening. Therefore, the first few chapters of this story will feature the slimmed-down team that's still Stateside, Blake having been brought back to the unit very quickly after Prentiss resigned.

Also, I feel I must note that yes, there will be moments in this fic where some of the team are acting a tad out of character. However, this _is_ a story about how they, as a team, handle those OOC moments.

Chapter 2: Operation Rescue Reid

"…you know how he is with reporters. I just feel better about the whole thing if we keep an eye on him…"

"And yet somehow Jayje, I don't completely believe that excuse."

"Aw, c'mon Hotch. He might need back-up."

Alex had just stepped off of the elevator on her way back from lunch when her feet froze in place upon hearing that odd exchange between JJ and their boss. The two stopped beside her, JJ shooting her a quick grin before she pitched her voice into a falsetto and continued her thought, "I mean, really, 'My name's Lauren Lightly but _you_ can call me Lolo Dr. Reid.' She'll eat him alive."

"Who's eating Reid alive?" Call it morbid curiosity but this was just bizarre enough a conversation that she couldn't resist asking.

"The reporter that was supposed to interview him about that paper you two published last year cancelled at the last minute and sent an intern in his place. The original reporter is someone who Reid dealt with before and could handle. This one however…."

"Is a little more aggressive in ways not related to the article," Hotch took over the explanation, "And JJ wants to keep an eye on him without them knowing about it, just in case. There's a reason we usually try to keep Reid away from reporters."

"What's this about reporters?" Once again, Rossi proved that he hadn't lost his ability to find the latest gossip in her time away from the BAU, as he spoke up from behind her, causing her to jump.

"Reid is being interviewed in regards to that re-translation of medieval documents that he worked on last year. It's apparently made quite the stir in several academic circles and this is the first time that we've been around long enough for them to schedule an interview. Unfortunately, the reporter that was supposed to do the interview came down ill and sent someone else in his place."

JJ seemed to take the continued conversation as a sign that Hotch had conceded the discussion to her and grinned as she grabbed Alex's wrist and tugged, "C'mon, you won't want to miss this. I swear, this girl's read 'Fifty Shades of Gray' one too many times and seems to think that being sent in as a substitute on an interview is going to get her a man." A strangled sort of sound from behind them indicated that at least one of the men was surprised at JJ's non-admission of reading said same series and Alex caught her rolling her eyes without looking behind them, "Oh for goodness' sake, I know the writing is horrid but after reading case files day in and day out, sometimes you just need something trashy and fun. Blame Garcia, she gave them to me."

The sound of an elbow meeting rib told Alex that Dave had been forced to quickly reconsider what he was going to say when he asked, "Was that the re-translation of that crap Latin to English thing they found a few years back?" Alex had to wonder what he would have originally asked even as she answered him.

"Yes, it bore the seal of Pope Alexander II and was related to the _Voyage of Saint Brendan_, though it was a poor translation. The translation to the English dialect of the time was so poor we had to compare it to the Latin, then retranslate to the dialect of the time and then again to modern English. While Saint Brendan is not as well-known as Saint Patrick, it was of sufficient interest for the translation to be important." She spit this out quickly as she followed JJ down the hall towards what she knew was Garcia's office and nearly stopped short as she realized that, for the first time, she was being included in what could be termed a casual team bonding moment.

Whatever else she might have said left her mind has they entered the office and were greeted with not only the CCTV footage of the conference room that Reid was being interviewed in but also a Skype window that showed the three London-based team members gathered tightly around what had to be Garcia's laptop….and passing a giant bowl of popcorn back and forth between them.

Rossi let out a low whistle as JJ sat at the console to bring the sound up for the conference room screen, "Since when do you know how to work Kitten's system?"

JJ shot him a look over her shoulder as she keyed in a couple of commands, "Are you going to ask foolish questions or do you want to watch this?" On-screen, Reid had obviously just gotten past the pleasantries and basic description of the project and he was starting to visibly squirm as the reporter's questions began to edge from the realm of the project and more towards Reid himself. Instead of replying, Rossi instead claimed the chair as soon as JJ relinquished it, a grin forming on his face as he watched; though whether it was from watching Reid squirm or seeing the reporter's low cut blouse, Alex couldn't say.

Over the next few minutes she did find herself amused at how awkward her young colleague was around a pretty reporter, especially one that was flirting blatantly with him. As she leaned against a storage cabinet she could see Rossi's grin grow wider and wider as the minutes ticked by and the three in London laughed and threw popcorn at their screen. But what was most interesting was watching JJ, who was nearly doubled over with near-silent laughter and holding on to Hotch's shoulder in order to stay upright; she'd never seen the blonde laugh so hard. As for him…well, even in the old days, he was never one to out and out guffaw like Rossi could at times but she did remember him having a rather dry sense of humor at one point. She thought she saw him crack a small smile at one point, though whether it was over Reid's predicament or his team's antics, she wasn't quite sure. He hadn't moved since they'd come into the room, or at least not until JJ's hand nearly slipped from his shoulder as she doubled over once more; then he pulled an extra chair over and helped her sit down, shaking his head in amusement before turning back to the monitors.

That small action didn't take more than thirty seconds to complete but it made her realize something about the Unit Chief; he hadn't actually changed all that much from when she knew him before, though he was undeniably quieter and more stressed. But in essentials, he hadn't changed; he still knew when his team needed help or even if they just needed to have a moment to laugh. And from what Reid had told her, they all needed a bit of a laugh lately.

However, the practical side of JJ's insistence on monitoring Reid's interview was revealed a couple of minutes later; the shifts in body language between reporter and profiler were small but just enough to put the team on alert. Things had just gone from 'adorably awkward nerd talks to pretty reporter' to something a little more troublesome. And it seemed that this was just what the others had been afraid of. JJ stopped giggling, Rossi half-rose from his chair and Hotch's shoulders straightened, while the three across the ocean set down the popcorn. Even as she was trying to catch up to what they'd seen, Rossi was already turning for the door.

"I'll cover him."

"The hell you will." Hotch gave his friend a knowing look; there was no way he was setting Rossi of all people on a reporter, "Blake, you two did the translation together, as I recall." How had he known that? "Come with me."

Alex quickly followed him down the hall towards the conference room. Her confusion must have been clear because Hotch explained without prompting, "Reid tends to get very flustered by reporters. Usually, the academic journalists are easier for him to deal with but even those are chancy; that's why it was worrisome when the man who was supposed to come today had to cancel. Reid had been interviewed by him in the past without too much trouble, once he got comfortable with him. All fun aside, JJ was right to want to keep tabs on things today. When we get there, please finish answering whatever questions she has about the project itself; I'll take Reid back to the others. And for future reference, if Reid ever does get cornered by a reporter in the field, try to gently take over as quickly as possible. He may be a genius but he's crap at dealing with the press."

"Understood. I'll take care of it." And she did understand; her young friend was brilliant but he did have trouble in unfamiliar social situations….and reporters were complete sharks. No wonder the others had been concerned.

When they reached the conference room Hotch tapped briefly on the door before opening it to reveal Reid looking like a deer in the headlights and a reporter whose body language was just screaming 'on the prowl.' The Unit Chief didn't acknowledge the tension but merely stated, "My apologies for the interruption but I need to speak with Dr. Reid about an urgent case. Ms. Lightly, this is Dr. Alexandra Blake, Dr. Reid's partner for the project; she'll be happy to answer any questions you may have while we're gone." The younger woman looked as if she wanted to protest but Hotch just politely ignored her and indicated that Reid should follow him. With one last nod to Alex he closed the door behind him and left her alone with the now sulky blonde.

"Ms. Lightly, did Dr. Reid get to tell you about the fascinating shift in dialect that we discovered during the re-translation process…?" For the first time, she actually felt like she was truly a part of the team….

In the hall, Hotch stopped to allow Reid a moment to collect his wits before joining the others, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thanks Hotch. Why is it that I always end up such a babbling mess when it comes to reporters?" Reid ran his hands through his already-messy hair and yanked at his tie until it was more askew than it normally was, "I hate it when that happens."

Hotch just settled for putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder instead of a verbal reply; he personally held little hope for Reid ever becoming remotely comfortable with the press, which was one of the reasons he hadn't objected too hard to JJ's little scheme today. Though he did make a mental note to make sure that the next time Reid had to be interviewed it was by one of the journalists JJ already had on a very short list…and no last minute substitutions.

When the two reached Garcia's lair, they were greeted by the sight of the three London-bound agents smirking, Rossi avidly watching Blake deal with the journalist and JJ apparently trying to decide if she wanted to glare at the reporter on the screen or laugh again. The decision was made for her when Reid caught sight of the Skype window and she broke down laughing as he yelped.

"You guys were _teleconferencing _that!?"

Even he had to crack a smile at the genius's tone of righteous indignation. But, he mused, it was good to see her laugh again.


End file.
